A Modelo razorblade and a pair of brothers arrested

A Latin concert descended into a violent string of incidents Friday night into Saturday morning, including a man grabbing a female officer by the shirt and shoving her, another man brandishing a jagged weapon fashioned from a beer can and a third man trying to steal a town pickup truck – his second arrest of the night, according to police.
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LAKEWOOD – A Latin concert descended into a violent string of incidents Friday night into Saturday morning, including a man grabbing a female officer by the shirt and shoving her, another man brandishing a jagged weapon fashioned from a beer can and a third man trying to steal a town pickup truck – his second arrest of the night, according to police.

The series of clashes with police began at the Lake Terrace events hall on Oak Street, where last month a man was stabbed at another concert in an attempted murder. At Friday night’s concert there were about 1,500 people in attendance, Lakewood police Sgt. Greg Staffordsmith said.

The five people arrested were “truly a small percentage of concertgoers who are a problem,” he said, but those five nonetheless accounted for a heavy workload for the night shift.

Officers first went to the event hall in search of Ricardo Nava, who was wanted in Freehold in connection with the aggravated sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, Staffordsmith said. Nava was located by officer Jason Yahr and arrested without incident.

But his brother Felix Nava “attempted to interfere” with the arrest, and in doing so got himself arrested for obstruction, Staffordsmith said. He was served a summons and released, while his brother Ricardo, 19, was taken to Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township, where he was held on $400,000 bail.

Later, when officer Geno Messer arrived to police headquarters, located within the municipal building, Messer observed a man in the front seat of a pickup truck belonging to the town inspection department. It was Felix Nava, Staffordsmith said, and when Nava saw the officer he ran away. The 23-year-old was quickly apprehended and charged with burglary and attempted theft of a motor vehicle. He was taken this time to Ocean County Jail in Toms River. His bail information was not available.

Police were back at Lake Terrace around 2 a.m. Saturday “dispersing (a) large crowd” in the parking lot, Staffordsmith said. A fight broke out among several individuals, he said, and an officer, Kristie Buble, requested backup. While Buble broke up the fight, Victor Ascencio, 21, “turned against her and grabbed her by her shirt and shoved her,” according to Staffordsmith. Bubble “gained control” of Ascencio and he was charged with aggravated assault on an officer, Staffordsmith said. Ascencio was sent to the county lockup as well, where he was held on $7,500 bail with no option to post 10 percent.

A few minutes after the fight, Buble and Staffordsmith were escorting several men to their car after telling them several times to leave. As Staffordsmith trailed one of the men, Alex Reyes-Ramirez, he noticed Reyes-Ramirez reach into his waistband. Reyes-Ramirez, who is listed in jail records as 21, pulled out a razor-like object made from the bottom edge of a Modelo beer can, which “was designed to cut or slice its intended target,” Staffordsmith said.

“He manipulated it so that the jagged edges of the can were facing up an he could hold the smooth bottom of the can to reduce or eliminate injury to himself while using it,” Staffordsmith said.

Reyes-Ramirez was also charged with aggravated assault on an officer, as well as possession of a weapon. He was held on $15,000 bail with no 10 percent option, also at the county jail.

After Reyes-Ramirez was put in the patrol car, Staffordsmith said officers were “aggressively approached” by his brother Rafael Ramirez. Ramirez, 23, was arrested on a charge of defiant trespassing, Staffordsmith said.

His bail was set at $2,500 with no option to post 10 percent at the county jail, where he remained on Saturday night with his brother.